I need help here please. I have a network composed of a router and 3 comuters, one computer is connected with an ethernet cable, the two others on wifi.
up until yesterday it worked fine. then i tried to install wep on it (which worked last night and this morning on one of the computers) but the other could never connect and now the first one which could connect anymore either.
so i turned the wep protection off, and restarted the modem, router, main comuter and the two others and now my computers dont even recognise my wifi and i cant connect to it.
I'll assume a cheap junk wireless router, however it would be helpful if you kindly disclose the manufacturer and model number. Just substitute the real model number for my cheap junk wireless router. I'll also assume a laptop with Windoze XP Home running a Centrino based wireless card with Windoze Wireless Zero Config. It would be nice to know how close I've guessed.
My guess is that you've setup a profile for the connection on the laptop. When you changed the encryption configuration, the profile was no longer valid.
Find the wireless icon in the system tray (lower right of screen). Right click and select "Show Available Networks". It should show your cheap junk wireless router. If not, you've mangled something in the setup of the router. Check the page with the encryption and see what else was accidentally changes, such as "wireless on/off".
Also, check if the router itself is working by plugging a CAT5 ethernet cable temporarily between the laptop and one of the 4 LAN ports on the back of the cheap junk wireless router. If that works, then it's a wireless issue. If it doesn't work, then something in the router WAN/ISP setup went awry when you started tinkering.
Also, on the 2nd laptop, if you can't get a working WEP encryption key, try using a binary key instead of an ASCII key. It's longer, uglier, messy, but always works.
ok, sorry, I'm new to this sort of thing. its a netgear router, MR314. is that a cheap junky router?
one is a laptop that i dont have in front of me, the other is a desktop dell with a usb port wireless adaptor also a netgear MA 101.
the router itself is working because i have internet on a desktop plugged into it with an ethenet cable (RJ45).
the wireless network does not even show up as available when i click on the wireless networking icon.
i'll check and see if i accidentally turned it off, but the little green light (sorry i cant think of anything more technically for that) that says wifi on the router is on.
excuse my lack of an intricate understanding of the techy forum world, i hope i will pick up the proper comportement quickly, and most of all,
Hint: Numbers, not vague descriptions. The more numeric detail you supply, the more detailed the answer. Also, some devices have version specific issues.
In general, when you have a question, please supply:
What problem are you trying to solve?
What do you have to work with? (Hardware, operating system, software, drivers, version numbers, etc).
Optional: What have you done so far and what happened?
formatting link
It's old and no longer sold. It's 802.11b only instead of the faster and better 802.11g. It uses the old style interface which is difficult to configure. LImited options and features. The last firmware update was in Aug 2002. About $30 on eBay so it's cheap. Yes, I would call it cheap wireless junk. However, I do like the rugged metal blue box.
You might wanna check if you have the latest 3.29 firmware. However, don't install it until things are mostly working.
Can the Dell desktop and unspecified notebook connect to any *OTHER* wireless networks besides yours? If so, they're working. I'm trying to determine which part of the puzzle is broken by substitution. Do your testing with encryption off so that part isn't in the puzzle.
I can't tell what you're clicking from here. Is it the Windoze Wireless Zero Config icon, or the Netgear MA101 driver software? For that matter, are you running Windoze XP SP2?
The wireless light is listed in the "tech manual" as on when "The wireless circuit is functiona" which can mean almost anything. My guess is that it has power and nothing more. The manual has nothing on wireless troubleshooting. ftp://downloads.netgear.com/files/mr314_ref_guide_326.zip
Judging by the age of the MR314, something might have blown up.
If you make no progress, and it's time for desperate measures, I suggest you verify that the MR101 desktop and unspecified laptop setup works using someone elses wireless router. A free internet hot spot would work. Then, dive into the MR314 setup, write down every setting that looks useful, in particular the ISP and wireless settings. Punch the reset button, and put all the setting back. Leave encryption off for now. If that doesn't work, then there's something broken in the MR314.
I've had a lot of problems with Netgear stuff - even the current stuff. I'm using Linksys now and have relatively few problems with these devices. The only problem I've had with Linksys is using the utility program with XP - just loading the Linksys driver and letting the XP wireless manager take care of connections worked best for me.
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